Richard Thompson: “Linda and I loved glum… glum is the new glam”

Richard & Linda Thompson look back at their 40-year-old masterpiece, I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight, in the new issue of Uncut, dated September 2014 and out now.

Richard & Linda Thompson look back at their 40-year-old masterpiece, I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight, in the new issue of Uncut, dated September 2014 and out now.

The folk-rockers, along with collaborators including Fairport Convention’s Simon Nicol and engineer John Wood, recall the years leading up to the making of the 1974 LP, with tales of drunkenness, doom and radically changing lifestyles.

“We loved glum,” says Richard with a mischievous chuckle. “Glum is the new glam.”

“He was very young – all young men are a bit sullen,” Linda says. “He was unworldly, and generous, and just adorable.”

The new issue of Uncut is out now.

Photo: Rex Features

Visit our dedicated features section, with plenty of our best long pieces archived there. You can find it here.

Uncut is now available as a digital edition! Download here on your iPad/iPhone and here on your Kindle Fire or Nook.